Curriculum

Master of Specialized Journalism Program Information

All students begin their studies with our Summer Digital Journalism Immersion program (Journalism 528). This program allows all incoming journalism graduate students to learn in USC Annenberg’s state-of-the-art Media Center. Students work with an assigned faculty adviser to help customize their curricula.

In the fall, incoming students take a common course (Journalism 595: “Critical Thinking: The Art and Science of Not Getting Fooled”) that prepares them with the foundations of public-interest journalism. Students start working on their culminating projects through the master’s thesis coursework.

In the spring, students are encouraged to focus on in-depth reporting pieces. Student projects are overseen by faculty with expertise in these areas. Students can customize a curriculum both within USC Annenberg and across USC’s other academic programs. Specialized journalism students have the opportunity to spend the entire semester embedded with their stories.